Reflections on My 39 Years in Umbria

What seemed like an endless, absolutely endless Indian summer with its day after day of sunny, bright days and crisp mornings and evenings, a Siberian/Balkan (northeast) wind began howling viciously during the night and brought an EARLY snowfall to the surrounding mountains. The striking contrast of the colors of the vineyards - still at their autumn peak - with the snow-capped mountains against the dark backdrop of an ominously stormy sky, prompted yet another photographic outing in our attempt to capture what is surely to be the very last hurrah of this beautiful season!

Approaching the Inn entrance this grey, COLD morning

The riot of fall colors on a stormy day

Spectacular scenery

"Outrageous" beauty

At Genius Loci today we received a pleasant phone call from a man in Rome who said he had heard that there was fresh snow on the mountains and that the colors of the vineyards were still at their peak: could we accomodate him for the weekend? He was SO disappointed that we had just closed for the season. He asked repeatedly if there was anyway we could make an exception for him. If it were possible, we certainly would have. We would have loved sharing the beauty of the countryside with him. This kind gentleman, so enthusiastic about Genius Loci and Umbria, assured us that he will come next year: we look forward to meeting him!

Such dramatic colors

After our photography as Maurizio stayed in the winery to bottle our 2006 Sagrantino Passito, I came home to light a roaring fire and to cook Umbria-style polenta with ragù, aged, grated pecorino and roast sausage. After lunch we roasted chestnuts on the fire for the first time this fall and sipped our excellent new 2006 Passito.

For this native Californian, the beauty of seasonal changes, the variety of food and activities geared to a particular time of year is a great pleasure. It certainly is a gentle reminder of the beauty and the variety of the seasons of our own lives!